The present invention relates to fat-containing confectionery compositions and particularly to chocolate compositions and more particularly to chocolate compositions which contain water, and the invention relates to fat-containing confectionery compositions suitable as a coating for or as an inclusion in an ice confectionery composition.
In a conventional fat-coated ice cream product, for example an ice lolly, bar, morsel, cone, cup or cake, the fat may account for some 45-60% by weight of the coating. In ice cream products with conventional fat-based coatings, the fat gives some brittleness to the coating and the coating does not properly adhere to the ice confectionery core.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a coating composition which has a soft texture, good adhesion on ice and good storage and heat-shock resistance and a good chocolate flavor and which is able to be processed in a conventional coating operation.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,659 there is disclosed a process for coating a frozen confectionery product in which the coating composition is calorie reduced in that it is in the form of a water-in-oil emulsion, wherein the emulsion comprises 40 to 55% by weight water, 2 to 4% by weight of an emulsifier system comprising decaglycerine decaoleate, and less than about 3% by weight water-soluble compounds. This coating was designed to reduce calories while keeping the crispness/brittleness.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,120,566 there is disclosed a composition for enrobing ice confectionery based on a water-in-oil emulsion, in which the emulsifier system is a low hydrophilic lipophylic balance sugar fatty ester and which contains a nut paste.